Bring a Loupe Five Great eBay Finds From Tudor, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Heuer (x2), And Universal Geneve

Unearthing fantastic watches on eBay can be a gratifying experience. While there can be greater risk, if you know what you are looking at, you can get some great pieces for far less than they would cost from a vintage watch dealer or from a major auction house. Here are five pieces currently on eBay that I really like: a Tudor Submariner from circa 1964, a vintage Jaeger-LeCoultre triple calendar in steel, a vintage Aerotel chronograph from the late 1930s by Heuer, a Heuer Hervue pair likely from the 1950s sold by Abercrombie & Fitch, and a Universal Geneve three register chronograph from circa 1941-1942.

Unearthing fantastic watches on eBay can be a gratifying experience. While there can be high risk, if you know what you are looking at, you can get some great pieces for far less than they would cost from a vintage watch dealer or from a major auction house. Here are five pieces currently on eBay that I really like: a Tudor Submariner from circa 1964, a vintage Jaeger-LeCoultre triple calendar in steel, a vintage Aerotel chronograph from the late 1930s by Heuer, a Heuer Hervue pair likely from the 1950s sold by Abercrombie & Fitch, and a Universal Geneve three register chronograph from circa 1941-1942.

Tudor Submariner Reference 7928

This Tudor Submariner from 1964 has a great presence and importantly has never been polished. Yes, the glossy black dial has some age spots, but it is a beautiful watch. The gilt chapter ring, silver text, and yellow-orange tritium lume come together nicely here. The seller had the watch serviced recently and had the crystal and mainspring replaced.

This Tudor Sub is available for a buy-it-now of $6,500 and the seller is allowing offers to be made, too. Someone please buy this watch because it has been haunting my dreams.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Triple Date

This steel Jaeger-LeCoultre triple date watch with teardrop lugs is just an all-time classic from JLC. In fact, Philippe Dufour actually has one of these exact watches in his small collection, which I think says a lot. This particular example has a lot of patina on the dial, but the case appears to be unpolished. The red date numerals around the edge work together nicely with the red date and month disks in the center, while the gold hands and numerals complement the gold center of the dial.

This watch is available in an eBay auction and is at just over $1,100 at the time of this article going to press.

Aerotel Chronograph Made By Heuer

I love the look of this circa late-1930s Aerotel chronograph made by Heuer. The case is thick, unpolished, and mint, the dial has large registers, a red telemeter track, a blue tachymeter track, and a silver background on the main black Arabic numerals, it has dark blue steel hands, and it has oval pushers. You can see the "Ed. Heuer" script signature on the bridge and an "E. Heuer" on the inside of the caseback. It is just a very compelling watch. The overall look is reminiscent of some 1930s Longines chronographs with 13ZN movements, but this is a fraction of the price of those.

One day, I would love to have a Heuer dashboard pair on my desk and I think this pair of circa 1950s clocks signed by Abercrombie & Fitch would do very nicely. This is the so-called "Hervue pair" where the left clock is an 8-day clock signed "Hervue" and the right clock is an Autavia timer. These watches were sold from the 1930s to about the mid-1950s. It is extremely rare to see a set sold by Abercrombie and the Abercrombie signatures add a lot of desirability to the piece.

This watch is available in an eBay auction and is at $3,150 at the time of this article going to press.

Universal Geneve Reference 22427

This Universal chronograph with patina from circa 1941-1942 is really a "project" watch. It seems to have everything it needs to be a great watch after service. I especially like the blue steel hands and printed Arabic numerals. Inside is the calibre 287.

Buying any watch that is not running is a serious gamble, but one thing to look for is the overall condition of the movement and make sure it is not rusting or scratched up and that obvious pieces are not missing). Funnily enough, someone scratched in some extra text on the movement and caseback, however that does not seem like it would affect the movement or value of the watch once operational. Overall, I think this watch has a lot of promise as a watch with a lot of character. Importantly, the steel case is all original and unpolished.

This Universal is available in an eBay auction and is at $260 at the time of this article going to press.